The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

I met Trenton Lee Stewart after a concert in central Arkansas several years ago. It was a funny experience because I had not read much of the Mysterious Benedict Society (if any of it) and I knew he was famous for it but couldn't think of anything to say to him. I wanted to smack my forehead afterward because it was silly to have a chance to rub shoulders with a literary celebrity but waste the opportunity by several moments of silence. Anyway. I read the MBS series and thought they were good. A little hard to get into sometimes, but my sons love them and have read them multiple times. But then they persuaded me to set aside my grownup fare and read THIS book, insisting it was Stewart's best yet. I read the first chapter and found that I couldn't put it down. It has a narrative pace that is much more compelling than the MBS books. Its characters are more real. Its plot has neatly executed intricacies that satisfy. Its message is uplifting and inspiring. I agree with my sons -- this is Trenton Lee Stewart's best work thus far! And now if I were to meet him again, I would have plenty to say to him, including to express my hope that it has been submitted to the Newbery committee. It is every bit as good as Louis Sachar's "Holes"; in fact I like it even more because of its power to make me want to be better, kinder -- to use my gifts to help those I care about, like Nicholas Benedict.

I bought this as a gift for my nephew, and he found it to be an entertaining read with a fabulous mix of adventure and mystery. The story kept him engaged with relatable characters and clever writing that made it easy and enjoyable to read. It also works really well as a prequel to the Benedict Society series and gives a satisfying connection to the larger story. He especially liked how the main character overcomes challenges in creative ways, which made the book even more interesting and fun to follow.

Very interesting, the best in the series no doubt

I absollutely love Mr. Stewart's books! I own all the Benedict Society books and jumped at the opportunity to buy this one. It was a remarkable book that shone a different sort of light on Mr. Benedict. It uses words like "ebullient" but for me, this was not a particularly difficult read. I finished it in one sitting and was extremely sorry to see it end. I adore books with geniuses in them and love to see how the genius' mind works. Mr. Stewart must be a genius himself, for he has every single step of the story coming together beautifully for a spectacular ending! He enraptured me with his desciptions of how Nicholas worked his mind through different obstacles, including "setting up his room" the first night. His constant outwitting of the bullies left me admiring and chuckling. BRAVO, MR. STEWART!

Good book

Very entertaining, read it as a youngster, read it again really enjoyed it

I love to read.. the main character in this book is intriguing.

I read this with my 11 yr old. We were both so sad for this poor kid, who was so jaded and skeptical by age 9 that he took it as a matter of course that there were no decent grownups on the planet. For anyone who's dealt with abuse/neglect, this could be a hard book to read, but stick with it till the end. Journey with Nicholas as he finds that there *are* decent people out there, and he realizes he wants to grow up to be one of them. Possible that most other people are reading this and seeing a treasure hunt and stuff, lol, but for me, the story was about soul-healing.

Read this book outloud to my kids, they loved it (I think ages 10-13 would enjoy). The main characters struggle with bullies, neglect and sadness—finding strength and encouragement with a small number of friends. Really powerful.

Really good. The book came in very good condition and I really like it.

子ども向けだが、大人でも充分読める内容であり、お薦めの本の一冊です。

Love all the books in this series. A nice read whether you are 10 and beginning to enjoy reading more complex stories or 50 and looking for a bit of simple escapism. This book was more enjoyable than I expected (never sure about prequels) and gave more insight into the character of Nicholas from other books. Recommend.

Bought the whole series of books for grandson he loved them all